


Eye of the Beholder

by ideallyqualia



Series: Rare Pairs [79]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Universe, M/M, Polyamory, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 16:27:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11165643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: Goshiki gets his hair cut like Ushijima. It doesn’t bother Shirabu, but it also does.





	Eye of the Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning that I don't know much about hair.

Shirabu always thought Ushijima's hair looked good on him. There was clear bias in that since he thought almost anything could look good on him, but with Goshiki, Shirabu didn't think anything would be impressive. Then one day, Goshiki appeared in a nearly identical haircut.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shirabu asked. He caught Goshiki in the hallway of their dorm building, and at the sound of his voice, Goshiki swiveled, his arms rising to defend himself.

"What? Do what? What'd I do?"

"Don't act dumb. Your hair." Shirabu sighed. "Are you trying to look like him now, too?"

"No, it's not that, I just... I wanted to try it out." Goshiki forced out a huff, his breath unsettling the new strands of hair hanging from his head.

"It looks weird and wrong." Shirabu turned and crossed his arms.

Once he got over the surprise, he had to admit, Goshiki had a good look, slightly fitting. Handsome. But only because of Ushijima having it as a precedent. The more he thought about it, the more it irritated him that Goshiki was attractive with the haircut.

"What's wrong about it?" Goshiki asked.

"You can't just copy him and get away with it. You can't ride his coattails."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't get a haircut to look like him and then expect to get all the benefits of being Ushijima without actually being him. You look out of place, too."

Goshiki stared down at his hands. "I'm not doing this to get better at volleyball. That makes no sense."

"Of course that's not what I meant," Shirabu snapped. "What I'm saying is that you can't get by on someone else's good looks."

"Good looks?" Goshiki stood taller.

"I'm not talking about you."

"But doesn't that mean you like Ushijima?"

Shirabu scratched the side of his head, his eyes closing with a twitch. " _No._ It's possible to admit someone's attractive without being attracted to them, you know."

"Uh. How do you...find someone attractive then?" Goshiki shook his head, and then pointed at Shirabu. "Never mind. You _like_ Ushijima!"

"Are you even listening?"

Goshiki lowered his hands to his hips, his mouth tight in a smug smile. Bright red proud specks sat on his cheeks. "You have a crush on Ushijima! What're you going to do about it?"

" _Nothing_." Shirabu stepped in and pushed Goshiki aside. He walked past without looking at him.

Goshiki was right. Shirabu had deep romantic feelings for Ushijima. He tried not to dwell on it or think about it, but Goshiki's hair brought everything awkward and shoved it in his face.

Shirabu closed the door to his room and pressed his hand to his face, feeling the skin grow redder and warmer, hot and irritated.

Someone knocked on his door. "Hey, Kenjirou! I have something to show you!"

"What is it."

Tendou didn't say anything for a moment. "You don't sound enthusiastic."

"I'm not."

"Well, you should be! I want you to come with me and see Tsutomu real quick."

Shirabu locked his door. "I already saw his new haircut."

"You did?! Aww. I wanted to be there." Tendou groaned. "So what do you think of it?"

"What do you _think_ I think? It's terrible."

"Are you calling Wakatoshi ugly?"

"I'm saying Goshiki is awkward."

"Did you say that to him?" Tendou asked.

"A little."

The doorknob twisted suddenly. "Can you at least let me in? I don't want to talk to the door... Did you lock it?!"

"I have homework to do." Shirabu walked away and sat at his desk.

 

* * *

 

Shirabu grimaced at the sight of Goshiki sitting across from him, next to Ushijima. Their hair colors didn't match, but now that Shirabu could see them clear and side by side, they still looked slightly similar. Enough to bother him.

Tendou tilted his head to peer into Shirabu's face. "Are you trying to lay an egg? You look constipated."

Shirabu snapped his eyes shut for a second, his mouth twisting. "Do you _want_ me to?"

"Wow, are you crabby." Tendou's nose wrinkled. He slid on his elbows to face Ushijima. "While Kenjirou lays that egg... Have you seen my lucky pencil? I lost it somewhere."

"Where did you have it last?"

"In my pocket."

Ushijima frowned. "Isn't that pencil really small?"

"Holding onto a pencil for that long is an accomplishment. It's so small because it's been sharpened so much."

Shirabu stared at Ushijima and Goshiki. He stared at Ushijima often, and with Ushijima's convenient density he didn't have to hide it that much, but he drifted to glance at Goshiki this time. Goshiki didn't pay attention to him either. He constantly looked back and forth between them, trying to keep himself from comparing them but failing, and then he slipped into success and studied Goshiki's face and neck.

Goshiki was skinny, lankier than Ushijima with less muscle. He was bright, too, and his energy bubbled over into his body, fidgeting or shifting, while Ushijima had no wasted movement even off the court. Shirabu's sight rested on Goshiki's eyes, and underneath them, the cheerful red color sitting high on the full curve of his cheeks. Goshiki could blush, but most of the time he was actually just happy, proud, or something in between; meanwhile, Ushijima just blushed and nothing else, if anything. He was surprisingly easy to fluster.

"It had a good eraser on it, too! One of those erasers you buy separate from pencils. I lose those all the time."

"But if you never lose that pencil...never mind," Semi said.

Shirabu took another slow bite of rice. Goshiki was in his mind now. He couldn't get him out of his head.

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N): Not looking for concrit; don't leave any.


End file.
